Reflections in the Water
by Anastasios
Summary: Have you ever looked back on your life one day in the most dire time, and you realize how much you've done wrong to the people that loved you? Can you get another chance to make up for those mistakes under set conditions? Follow Zero, one of those screw-ups, as he is rescued within his dying moments of reflecting on his life, and join him to fix his mistakes, and make it back home.
1. Prologue

**Something I'd like to point out before this story kicks off, the main character is based on what it is like in my very own life, and what I predict will happen in the future eventually. No, I will not teleport to some mythical world inside of a fairytale. The personality that I give to the character will represent who I am, and what I am. Hopefully you can pick up on that personality and realize that there are people out there just like me, and that they need help. I will not use my name in the story, because the character is not me, but rather a representation of my own character and personality. The people that are in the human world are based off of real life people I know, and I will not share any of their names, for privacy's sake of course.**

 **With that, I bid you adieu.**

 **Prologue**

Shit. That's what my life has been. Ever since I moved onto the outskirts of the port town that I have moved out of since then. My father had become a former shell of what he was. He yells, he cusses, he drinks, hell, he doesn't even do the work my mother has asked him to do around the house. What does he do? He sleeps all day, or goes out to help all of his buddies. And he says he does enough around the house. Pffft. What a bunch of baloney. My mother and I have had miserable lives throughout my childhood. I cried a lot, and so did she. I eventually became a shell of what I once was, just like my father. I used to be this very kind and caring individual. But now, I get angry at the most stupidest things, such as someone putting my cup in either the sink or the dishwasher, even if I had just gotten that cup out THE SAME DAY! It doesn't help that I am autistic too. I don't understand things as clearly as other people. I always feel the urge to correct someone, even if I know what they mean. And if someone doesn't respond to me, I keep on saying something over and over again until they get mad at me… does anyone ever understand me? I also have ADHD, OCD, and I did have tourettes, but that has been long gone.

I am now twenty-four years old, and I had just gotten out of college. I had mastered in video game developing, and I was teeming with ideas, and I was excited like a schoolgirl talking to her crush after been noticed by him for once. Heh. I've watched too much anime. I had also sent my application forms to Sierra Entertainment. I originally wanted to work for Nintendo, but whatever swayed me, I haven't a clue. Today. Today, was going to be a very important day; I can feel the ichor coursing through my veins, making me feel very invincible! Yeah!.. nah. No human is invincible. Not even Thomas Jackson. He got shot by his own men due to the overcasted shadows on his coat. Made him seem like a Union soldier, and what do ya know? His arm shattered, got amputated, and he died from ammonia a week later.

I was full of determination. Whenever someone insulted me, I insulted them back, only with a lot more of a punch than the former. I wasn't going to let any stinking punk or gangster back me into a corner and kill me in cold blood… why does that sentence foreshadow something that I now suddenly fear? I have extreme paranoia, and it usually is just hunches that are fake. I chuckled to myself, hopefully knowing that this was still "just a hunch." It was only nine o'clock AM, and I was waiting for my letter to come into the mail saying that I made the job.

Fortunately, I did not have to wait very long, and I saw a letter slide under my door, with my name on it. I got up from my seat, and said a silent prayer to God. Yeah, yeah, I pray. There is some force at work, shaping our world and our universe. God just had to exist. I wondered nine years ago after seeing that fetus' look the same at the first stage. All the animals in the world had to be one thing at one point, then they just separated. That would explain that theory I had thought of when I was young.

I tore open the letter without a second though, and I quickly read through its contents. Boring, boring, boring, what is even more boring than more words? I reached the bottom. This is what I was waiting for. FUCK. YEAH! I was accepted as an affiliate of Sierra Entertainment! I feel as if my heart could just burst from my chest in a bloody mess and start doing a tap dance with a tip of the fedora at the end! I would start my shift at the end of the month. After all, it was December, and they noted that they wouldn't want to cut me after just applying for the job. What kind of company would do that anyway? My life has made a turning point! I'm gaining the lead! Now all I need to do now is get a girlfriend, marry her, hope she is the right one, and have some children. I want at least one boy, and one girl. My father was born into a family of sisters. He's the only male out of them all. He had recently passed away too due to COPD. He ruptured a lung from a coughing fit, and as if they weren't permanently damaged already. We couldn't get him to the hospital in time to save him. Despite me having no respect, I missed him a lot. My mother still lives today, and my brother gave her grandchildren. She was finally a grandmother. I have no idea where my sister is. Hopefully she is still alive and well. Bad luck seems to follow her when she was at the wheel. She may be a bit reckless, but she can drive. It's all the other idiots that happen to her.

I walked out my door and pulled out my iPhone. I instantly added all of my friends into a chat room, and typed into the textbox, "OMFG, I MADE THE JOB! $ #%#$^." I was instantly met back with some replies, some were congratulating me with my success. Others were just proud. I switched on the camera, put it on my window facing me. I pressed record, and gaining my inner child, I walked back, raised my arms, and I dabbed. I ended the video, and sent it. I was soon met with dab emojis from some. I have such great friends.

I decided that I was going to walk around the city of Baltimore, just to think about my life, and how it turned out to be shit, but gradually became the best life I will ever get at this point. Ever since I was little, I wanted to make people happy. As I grew, I delved more into my dream, and decided that I would be a developer for the video game industry. I wanted to make a lot of people happy, and that included children at that time period too. I smiled to myself as I walked between people in a daze. Yeah, I lived in one of those apartments in the city. It was so beautiful at night, but during the day, you'd be bound to be killed by a terrorist at some point, or perhaps mugged. But hey, this was my life. I can do with it however I please. I decided that I would stop by a cafe to get my daily coffee. I wasn't there for just the coffee. I was meeting one of my best friends, but more importantly, my childhood crush, who I still liked very much. She was quirky, but very enjoyable. Jadelyn was a silly woman, but very smart. She had supported me since the day we met. Though we didn't have many classes together in school, we hung out one way or another. I then considered one day who I had the hots for. I realized that I thought of Jadelyn very much, and I knew that day that she was the one for me. She would balance me out, and bring me out of the depression that I had acquired from all the bullshit at him. It wasn't her efforts alone that brought me out of depression, but rather all of my friends in general. I don't think that I would have made it out of school alive without them. God blessed me with these people, and I don't intend on just leaving them dead and alone in a ditch; I would bury every last one of them, gather large enough stones, and carve into the stone with my fingers until they were raw and bleeding if I had to.

"Morning, Jadelyn," I announced to her casually as I sauntered up to the only open stool at the counter. I was obviously being stared angrily at by some of the perverted men in the cafe. They had the hots for Jadelyn too, and they only wanted her looks, and especially, her body. It's not what's on the outside that counts, but rather what was on the inside. I taught myself this lesson the same day that I developed my feelings for her.

"Good morning, Zero!" she replied cheerfully before reaching behind the counter and bringing out a menu for me. The cafe not only served coffee, but pastries, breakfasts, and did I mention food? I did? I don't remember.

"Did you get my text? I made the job," came my counter-reply. I was obviously quite prideful, because I had finally achieved my childhood dream of making other children and people happy. I would start my shift on the seventeenth of January. It was usually the time where the workers of this company… well… got back to work.

"Totally. That's an amazing feat you just performed. Not many people achieve their dreams nowadays."

I smiled at her behind the menu, though she could probably see through the menu, because she smiled back. I gave my order of a cinnamon bun and a large cup of coffee with french vanilla creamer. I don't drink coffee for the caffeine and "energy." I drink it for the taste. The creamer and coffee mixed together was a pleasant taste that I enjoyed.

I left the cafe that day with the stupidest grin on my face. I must have been drunk on something, but I knew I wasn't. Perhaps it was the rush of all the good things happening to me? My mind will never know. Little did I know that eyes bore into the back of my head from within the cafe. Little did I also know that my life will be flipped turned upside down. Just with one encounter from these perverts. Heh… I just made a "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" pun.

* * *

I had spent the whole day wandering the city, buying a few things here and there, and delivering them to my apartment. I was just walking around the night, the streets peaceful and void of life, with the exception of a passing car, or the occasional rat jumping out from an alleyway. I wish things could stay this way. No more war in the world; world peace would envelope us all, and everyone would be happy, even the really emotionally unbalanced people. I've dreamed of a world where the inhabitants got along easily, and that there were barely any arguments, except for the friendly ones. Those ones were okay.

I was far away from my apartment, so I decided to take the alleyways to get back to my house. I had this intense feeling of dread as I walked through them. It felt like I was prey, and that my stalking predator would jump out from behind me and pounce, ravaging me, and successfully obtaining its meal for the day. Did I say predator? What I meant to say was predators.

I turned sharply, to find that those punks from the cafe were blocking my exit back. And the looks on their face told me that they weren't leaving their posts anytime soon. Full of malice and animosity, they smirked.

"Well, well, well, look at who we've stumbled upon."

Those words were the words I feared the most. Yup, they wanted a fight, and they wanted me dead. They weren't just perverted punks; they were flat out perverted criminals, and I've stumbled into their spiderweb of a trap. And they were making sure of me not making it out alive. They all instantly pulled out switchblades, and boy were they long. And no, I'm not going to make a "that's what she said" joke. There is not a single second to be wasted. So you know what I did? I hauled ass down the other side of the alleyway, heading into the maze of bullshit that almost all of those types of cliched stories have. Watch, I'm going to stumble upon a dead end, and then, SHINK! I'm stabbed, and I get tortured to death.

I turned, and turned, trying to lose these thugs. I eventually heard the footsteps of my pursuers grow fainter and fainter. Yes! I've lost them. But I wasn't quite safe yet. They probably have not given up their search. I turned one last time, and what do you know? I've found the thing I was dreading; a dead, fucking, end. And to add on to that, I heard their footsteps behind me. I guess I was in too much of a shock, because next them you know, I feel something stab through my back. And boy was the pain excruciating! I held my breath in, keeping my cries of pain in check. If I were to cry out, then they would make my death even more painful. Smooth move Zero. You knew that you were going to die, and you knew the way to make it less painful. Blood poured out of my stab wound like a hole in a coconut leaking water. I fell to my knee, before roughly being shoved to the ground onto my stomach. They didn't waste any time, so they held me down, and lifted my neck. Heh. This was so cliche. I felt the blade press against my neck, and slide across, gutting my throat. My mind knew I was going to drown in my own blood.

Within my mind, I was thinking at miles per minute. Reflecting on my life leading up to this point, I was kind of a dick to everyone since I moved to that port town. I got along with my friends more than I did my family. Did I have a much better connection with them than my family? I must be very pathetic. My mother loved me very much, and she never gave up on me. But what did I give her in return? Pain and torture. I yelled at her a lot, and blew up from the littlest things. She cried a lot too. I'm starting to feel like a huge asshat. Then there was my sister. She was like my mother, only a bit more sassier. She always supported me, and not only that, but she understood me the most. I had a great connection with her. She's probably in Maine right now, working as a nurse in the medical field. Heh. She's probably saved a couple lives by now, or maybe ten. She isn't dead, because I didn't receive notice. There's my brother as well. He was an illiterate asshole to me. He never stopped picking on me despite me telling him to stop. I don't like jokes at all, and it was because of him and my father. I still love my brother. My father was a raging alcoholic, and he was like this before I was born. He drank, and drank, and got into many accidents. He was so lazy. He didn't work at all on the house. He slept all day. I feel as if nothing could have changed him… or anyone… except for me. If I had tried to actually get along with my whole family, they wouldn't have suffered. It wasn't just my father, for it was also me who caused grief and misery. I even went as far as shutting out all of my other family members! What kind of a fucking asshole am I!? To seclude yourself from everyone in your family is a huge deal, a low blow, and a disheartening thing to do. I might as well as slap everyone in my family and run away, only to never come back. Except… I won't come back. I can't make up the things I've done, because I don't have the chance. My mother always told me that I still had the chance to change, but I never took it. I didn't even visit her yet. I'm here, drowning in my own life fluid. I couldn't even speak to save myself. I just wish that I could have changed what I had done in my past, instead of secluding myself. If I hadn't stayed a hermit, I would have had a better life! A family that loved me more than they do now! A… family of my own. I never took my mother's word. I should have just listened… I just… wish that I could… redo my mistakes… I turned over, and watched the starry sky as my vision continued to darken. The whole front of my body was stained crimson. Soon, I wouldn't be able to see those stars anymore… … … Why is it not getting darker? As a matter of fact, why is it getting excruciatingly brighter!? I shouted in a panic weakly before my vision was consumed by this bright light.

And-.


	2. Rebirth from the Start

**Alright, so I'm sure that I need one of these things to prevent copyright issues, so here's my shoddy attempt at it.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own any character in The Legend Of Spyro series, nor am I an affiliate of Sierra Entertainment. I only own my own Original Characters.**

 **Without further ado, let's kick off the main chapters of "Reflections in the Waters"**

When I had awoken after I had that blinding light envelop my vision, I had first noticed that I was all bunched up. And it was tight. So tight in this enclosed space. I had thought that I was some kind of bunched up spirit going to heaven, or hell, but then I realized that I could move my fingers! Was I still alive? That means… I can break out of this! So naturally, I kicked at the wall of this enclosed space. I had just enough room to writhe and wiggle around in this small space. I clawed, scratched, and kicked with my feet and nails. Eventually, after a minute, I managed to crack the wall. Freedom is coming at last!

Suddenly, I heard a voice. A feminine voice. One that sounded like she was close by.

"Mother! Mother! It's hatching! It's finally hatching!" she shouted to whomever her mother was. Hatching? And judging by my ears, the voice was directing over to my direction… Was I inside of some kind of egg? Nevermind that. I soon managed to punch a hole in the crack, and with common sense kicking in, I widened that hole, finally being able to see the outside world for what it was. It took a bit for my eyes to adjust, but once they did, I noticed that I was in some kind of room, judging by some of the furniture, and the wooden walls. I climbed out of the space that I was adorning to get a better view of the room, but I was interrupted by clicking. The clicking was coming from me. I instinctively looked down at my "hands." Paws. Scaly, razor-nailed, paws.

.

.

.

THE HELL!?

I immediately tried to screech, but what would have come out as something loud, it was something… adorable!? What was my voice doing at such a high pitch? And why was it not that loud!? I knew instantly that I was in the form of some kind of reptile due to well… the silver scales all over my body, as I soon found out as I looked at myself. I even had a tail… heh. I felt the urge to chase my tail, but I was interrupted by another reptile entering the room. I shot my head over in their direction. My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. It. Was. A. Fucking. Dragon. Which meant that I was a dragon. I'm in the world of DRAGONS! And due to the size of this dragon, I would assume that it was still young. And also judging from its gasp, it was the female from before. What would it make me then? Her… little brother? Once again, I'm the last child of a family. Why couldn't I have any little siblings? This dragoness was flavescent colored, with a white underbelly. Her horns were jaggedly-structured, giving the appearance of lightning bolts. She had two horns at that, and they pointed back and up. Her scales gleaned beautifully in the sunlight, which I noticed entered through a window hole. Her irises, as I noticed, were a very pretty tint of purple. Perhaps a lavender? Something close to that color. Her wings were the same flavescent color, and her membranes were white like her underbelly. Her tail was long and slender, just like her body figure. It ended with with an arrow-point at the end. I'd say this is a very graceful dragoness. What was her name I wonder?

I heard claws clicking behind her, and I watched as she moved aside for a large dragoness to enter the room, and what I assumed to be a drake to enter just behind her.

The older dragoness' scales were a pure white, and her underbelly was a pastel violet color. I looked up into her eyes, and they showed gentleness, and more importantly, motherhood. They were a beautiful grey-blue mixture. Her tail ended in an arrow-point as well as my sister's, indicating inheritance. Her body figure was also slim and slender. Must be a thing for dragonesses. Her horns were smaller in thickness, and they curled back, similar to the horns of a ram. Her whole atmosphere spoke to me. It said "mother."

This meant that the drake was "father." He had very bright yellow scales. I bet if the sun shined on them, you'd be blinded. His underbelly was a ceil color, and his spines were a bone white. His underbelly was a very very light shade of blue, almost matching his scales. My father's wings were an orange-ish color, and the membranes were ceil too. His spines ran all the way back to his tail, which ended with something very blade-like. He must have been the main protector of the family, yet he also seemed to be a softy. I'd bet he even apologized whenever he got into an argument with anyone… unlike my human father. My human father never apologized, even when he was very wrong.

"He's so… beautiful!" my mother said in a whisper in glee. She stepped forward, her claws click-clacking against the floor. Immediately, she scooped me up with her forepaws as she sat on her hindquarters, holding my small, newly borned frame delicately. She was right in being gentle, I had just been… rebirthed? Yeah, rebirthed. I'd more than likely be weak. I stared up at my mother with curiosity in my eyes. _What is your name_? I wondered. I couldn't speak beforehand, so it's unlikely that I could speak now. My vocal cords hadn't developed into a speaking position yet. I felt a nuzzle against my small cheek as she cuddled me softly and closely. Her body radiated all sorts of warmth, so naturally, I snuggled closer, closing my eyes. I'm tired, oddly, likely from using my energy to break out of that egg.

"Aelius… what name should we give our son?" my mother asked Aelius, my father.

He thought for a bit before replying to my unnamed mother. "Zero. No one expects much from someone named Zero. I, however, expect much from him. He will do great things in this world," came his reply to my mother. Zero. That was my name, back in the human world. And… my human father told me that same reason as to why he named me Zero. I felt saddened on the inside, but it soon vanished. I was given a new start, and while I won't forget my human family, I'll make sure to not make the same mistake with this one.

"Zero… Zero, Zero, Zero," my mother sounded, rolling it around in her mouth, getting a feel for the name. After a few moments, she responded with a simple, "I love it." My mother turned towards my sister slowly, before whispering.

"Star. This is your new brother, Zero." Star was my sister's name… that still left my mother's name.

"Mother, thank you so much! I'll make sure to take care of him when you and father are away. I'll keep him safe from the Dark Master's army." Dark Master? Is there a war going on right now? Doesn't matter… I'm too tired to think. I yawned a bit cutely as I curled up in my mother's forepaws, quickly falling asleep. I heard my sister coo, as well as my mother, at my cute gesture before I fell asleep.

 **Thirty Years Later**

I soared through the sky, fleeing from an assailant. I had learned to fly seven years after I was born, when I was a youngling. I had learned it quite quickly too, and I've never seen such a proud look on my parents' faces, and Star's especially. I had come to learn that My mother's name was Godiva. A beautiful name for a beautiful mother, I must say. Star had become a young adult dragon three years ago. Dragon years are much different from human years. For one, years go by a tiny bit quicker in this world, and that eighteen years, which is the age of an adult human. Thirty six years is the adult dragon minimum. Star was now forty years, and even more beautiful than when I first met her from outside the egg. She had become a third parent for me too.

I've also learned that Dragon's can breathe multiple elements, and not just fire. There was fire, ice, earth, electricity, and the more rare ones, wind, poison, and shadow. It was fascinating how there was all this diversity between dragons, and just from elemental breaths alone.

I looked back, and watched as my assailant got closer and closer. I was having fun, but it was bound to end soon. I was a pro, but not an adept, at flying. He was able to outspeed me in the long run, even if I was a wind dragon. My mother was a wind dragon, an inherited trait. Star was an electric dragon, just like the father. The other odd trait that I inherited from older generations was ice.

"You won't get away for too much longer, Zero! Just give up!" came the teasing and playful tone of my father. I wasn't going to give up without a fight. There wouldn't be any fights for a while anyway. The Dark Master, now known as Malefor, were defeated by two young dragons. The war was over with, and everything was mostly peaceful, except for the rebuilding of Warfang, the major city of this continent. Our family would be moving there soon. It brings me back some memories of Baltimore. Not a great place, but hopefully Warfang would be a lot better of a place than a city full of fumes and pollution and crime.

"Hah! Fat chance!" I shouted back at him before I used my elements to my advantage. I tried to slow him down using the wind element. The air around my father soon began to swirl and and whirl. The air that flowed underneath his wings soon dissipated, and in turn, caused him slow down. Wind dragons are the best at flying, though they tend to have weaker bodies. They are more support if anything, but they can still fight well enough to defend themselves, or possibly flee from a formidable foe, just like my father. Speaking of which, my father decided that this charade was over, so with one powerful pump of his wings, he shot forward at a very fast speed. This surprised me as I was caught off guard whilst he wrapped his forepaws around me. My wings stopped pumping and flapping, and my father took us down to the ground with a nose dive, before spectacularly slowing us down to a glide, before landing on the ground and letting me go.

"Dangit. I thought I would get away this time!" I said to my father while glaring up at him with a playful demeanor. He simply bellowed this laughter.

"Zero, you know that despite being a wind dragon, you won't be able to outmatch me in flying in a while. You're still a young drake, who has a lot to learn. Hence why we are going to Warfang. You'll be taking classes to become a lot smarter than what you are."

I snorted before smirking. "Did you just call me stupid?"

"Nope. I'm just saying. You'll need a lot knowledge to go up against formidable foes. That includes…" he looked back behind me before looking back at me with a smirk of his own. What was my father planning? "Dragonesses."

Before I knew it, I was tackled from behind from an unknown force, whilst the whole time, my father was laughing. I writhed under the mass, but soon I was pinned by the surprise attacked from the tail up.

"Gotcha, Zero.~" Star. Of course. She always had this sneaky and playful nature, even though she was an adult dragoness. I couldn't help but smile lovingly at my sister, from which she returned it.

"You've gotta keep your guard up. Your enemies will be pouncing on you, just like how a dragoness like me did. Before you know it, you're trapped. But you also need to keep the attack going," she said before getting off me. "So, you know, you can fight off enemies, and of course, nosy dragons." She said that last comment with a little bit of disdain. She had mentioned that there was a drake of some kind stalking her days ago.

"Star, Zero, come on. Your mother is waiting for us at Warfang. She has our house already, and I'm sure you both are very excited." The words out of my father's mouth hit me like a train. Trains didn't exist here, did they? Probably not. We were going to Warfang now!? That means… there's bound to be more dragons my age! I'll be able to have more friends! I didn't have very many, mainly because of my name. But like my father says, no one expects much from someone named Zero. I plan to prove them all wrong someday. I will show this world that I am not a hermit!

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!' I shouted with glee before powerfully pumping my wings and taking off towards Warfang. It would be at least an hour before we reached it. At least, for a normal dragon. My sister and my father have powerful wings, and with me being a wind dragon, we should be able to reach Warfang within forty-five minutes. Hm. This seems very familiar… oh yeah. The move to the port town. This was the start of pain and misery and depression. I hope to whatever god lives in this world that this doesn't happen again. I heard my sister giggle and my father chuckle at my eagerness, before they too took off from the ground, and they came up beside me. This was going to be such a great day. Not only do I move from the rural area, but now I get to attend school, move into a new house, and more importantly, meet new dragons that would hopefully be my age!

Just as I suspected, with our anatomy, we arrived in Warfang in forty-five minutes. That, and we were pretty close by the city. It amazed me how such an ancient civilization can look so advanced. It had been a year since Malefor had been defeated, and the city already looked as good as new! I'm guessing that the moles worked very fast to please their dragon companions. I was shaken out of my thoughts by my mother walking up to my group. She was smiling as she approached my father, whom she nuzzled affectionately, before she proceeded to do the same with Star, and then stopping on me.

"Hello Zero. Are you excited to get into your new home?" she asked of me. I nodded up and down quickly, before she chuckled and gave me a loving nuzzle on my cheek. "Come on. Our house is getting dustier by the minute!" I nodded, and I felt my other two family members nod through the feel of the air. We strolled through the streets, meeting many new faces that I've never seen before. Most of the hatchlings were rolling around in the streets, wrestling each other and giggling and laughing, having the time of their lives. I couldn't help but smile, my heart fluttering at the site of this. This was how I should have been back on Earth. I should have been fun, kind, and boisterous. But instead I caused grief around me. I wish I could have changed things back on Earth back then. But hey, it's in the past. I know that my human family was probably mourning for me, but I couldn't help them. They'll just have to get passed my death, and move on with their daily life. Just like I have. Though I won't forget them ever.

I took my attention away from the children and kept click-clacking forward. I was nervous, yet excited to see our new home.

We eventually stopped in front of a large looking house. It was a mixture of a light blue, white, and yellow color. Likely built ahead of time to look unique from the rest. Imagine trying to find your house in the middle of a bunch of other houses, only they were all the same style house. No numbers to tell you which one was yours, no indicators; nothing. I was practically jumping with joy. I wanted in right away. And my wish was granted right away too. My father turned a doorknob that I didn't notice before, and he pushed it forward. The doorway was large enough for us to get in, and there was a second doorknob closer to the bottom, likely for Star and I to get into the house if needed. I immediately ran inside, and marvelled at what I saw.

The moles stockpiled the house with furniture of all kinds. There were two bookshelfs, with a small table in the middle on the right wall. There was a couch to fit all four of us on it, as the room was very huge. There were some stairs leading up to the upper rooms, presumably the bedrooms. There was an archway leading to what seemed to be a kitchen area. I will explore that later, but for now, I wanted to do something I always wanted to do. I ran over to the couch, and I jumped into the air and flopped on it. So soft! My thoughts became a reality too, because I heard chuckling from Star.

"A little excited, aren't we?" I nodded my head, which was buried in the cushions. I was never able to simply flop on a piece of furniture back on Earth. I would have gotten yelled at otherwise.

"Well, don't plan on staying there too long; We're going out for a bite. Mother already picked out the restaurant we are going to."

At the first mention of food, my tummy growled angrily, and loudly, causing a few snickers around the room, and for me to lift my head with an embarrassed blush caressing my cheeks.

"L-let's go then!" I stammered hurriedly as I lifted myself off the couch and plowed towards my mother, clearly embarrassed by my previous exploit. I nodded up at her to lead the way. When had I become so hungry? And why didn't I notice. Nevermind that, we exited our house, with my mother leading us down and away from the neighborhood we lived in. I had this nagging feeling that something was going to go down at this restaurant.

We walked into the doors of the restaurant, and already I was fit with the sweet, delicious, SUCCULENT, aroma of food being served and cooked. I felt drool running down my maw, but I quickly wiped that away before anyone could see it. I looked around the restaurant, taking in the many inhabitants as we walked to our table. Dragons of all colors were eating, conversing, and making merry. There were also different species of intelligent creatures. Moles, and a few cheetahs. My eyes scanned over an odd looking duo, and they caught my eye for a moment long enough to recognize their scale color. Purple scales. Black scales. Hmph. I've never seen those colors before. Nevermind that.

As soon as we sat down, we were immediately greeted by a mole waiter. He gave us some menus. Hey, they have menus! Sweet!.. Why am I being amazed by a menu? Must be my young mind at play. Curses! Why have thou plagued me with thy mind of a child!?

We eventually decided on some kind of meat-beef dish. They apparently have some kind of farming system going on. I wonder where all of this is being produced, because it's clearly obvious that there is a system.

My thoughts trailed on and on on gibberish that I would never think of, when suddenly I heard the shatter of a bowl coming from the table over in the corner. The table of the purpled-scaled dragon and the black scaled-dragoness. There seemed to be an intruder there. And judging by the looks on the aforementioned dragons' faces, they weren't happy. The male dragon who was the culprit of the smashing of the plate, was seething, his face contorted into a look of pure anger and malice. Now, any sane dragon would avoid any fights out in public. However, I wasn't a sane dragon. I was a human in the body of a dragon. And I had taught myself that those who are treated with disrespect by another will get disrespect in return.

My face contracted a look of disappointment, and I got up off my haunches from my seat. I silently made my way over to their table, despite my sister trying to get me to come back through loud whispers. I ignored her. My customs with interacting with people like this dragon never change.

"Excuse me?" I stated in an annoyed tone of voice. The drake brooding over them turned his head angrily my way. I held my poker face nice and well, despite this dragon being bigger than I was.

"The hell do you want, punk!?" The purple black duo glanced over at me with surprise ebbed in their eyes.

"I'd hate to be kind and all, but you are causing a big scene. Not only that, but you soiled the dragoness' lunch. Please, step down from the soap box you are about step on. I'm sure that no one wants to hear the vulgar language coming from your mouth. Oh, and one last request; leave these two alone," I said calmly while maintaining my poker face. Instantly, the whole restaurant became quiet. W-What did I say? Meanwhile the dragon I spoke to was absolutely fuming.

"I'll show you soiled, punk!" With a quick movement, he raised his left paw, with his claws ready to strike. Seriously!? In a public area!? With families and younglings and hatchlings!? As his claw came down, I stepped to the size, but a tad bit late, as his claw closest to me tore a small , but deep gash into my shoulder, causing me to wince. This arrogant bastard just did the it.

I shook off the pain, and a look of annoyance grew on my face. With a quick movement, I swiped my tail across the floor and at his legs and arms nice and quickly, catching him by surprise, before being toppled over by my tail. I took the chance to breath out an icy cold mist over his paws, and soon, they became encased in an icy cage. The fight was over as quickly as it started. I had to make this quick, otherwise I'd be in trouble because of someone else. Back on Earth, I always got in trouble because of another jerk.

The dragon struggled to break my icy prison, but before he could, the doors burst open, and a powerful looking dragon entered the establishment.

"Who started this mess?" were his first words. I immediately motioned my head towards the dragon on the floor, who was more than likely dreading the guard. The duo at the table did the same thing of pointing out the trouble maker. The guard immediately made his way over to us, and he smashed the ice, before roughly grabbing the vermin with his tail, and dragged him out of the restaurant. I sighed, glad that it was over, but what I failed to notice due to the adrenaline was the blood seeping out of my wound.

"Are you okay?" the purple dragon asked me as I clearly had returning pain etched on my face. My family soon approached from behind me, with concern in their movements.

"Y-yeah… just a w-AH, wind dragon here… and ice as well."

My father spoke from behind me. "Zero, we need to get this fixed up! It could be infected quickly!

The black dragoness spoke up afterwards. "I've got some red crystals. One should do," she said knowledgeably. Just who were these two dragons? The black dragoness set a small pouch into the table, and reached into it to pull out a small red crystal. She got up from her spot, and she walked over to me only to press the red crystal against my wound. Immediately, I felt my flesh mending itself back together. Now that was left was the excess blood. That could easily be cleaned with a wiping, and furthermore, a rinse in water.

"Thanks." I responded with a smile, which seemed to surprise her. She then responded with a beautiful smile of her own.

"Don't mention it."

"Thank you, young dragoness. I'm glad that you had that crystal with you. Zero would have turned out worse if not for you." My mother said gratefully.

The black dragoness smiled up at my mother, before returning her gaze to me. "Zero, huh. Unique. My name is Cynder. It was nice to meet you," she replied with a bit of cheerfulness embedded in her voice. The purple drake spoke up next. "My name is Spyro. Thanks for getting that guy away from us."

"I hate to just stand there while others are treated with disrespect," I replied with distaste towards the drake carried away by the guard.

Star suddenly spoke up from behind me. "Spyro… Cynder… are you two the real deal?"

Spyro directed his gaze towards my sister, along with a nod. "Yeah… we did defeat Malefor… it was even tougher bringing the whole world back together. But hey, we did it. That's all that counts, right?" he replied sheepishly.

Hold the flipping phone. These two dragons defeated Malefor!? But they look so young… and around my age. DING! They are around my age! And I believe I'm on their good side!

"Say, I've never seen any of you in Warfang. Are you all new here?" Spyro said thoughtfully.

"Well, yeah, we are all new here," I replied, along with my mother responding after me.

"We are here to get Zero learning about Dragon History."

Spyro looked like he was deep in thought, before that lightbulb in his head started on. "Zero, why don't you come with us to learn under the Guardians? I'm sure they'll let you in after hearing the feat you performed today," Spyro replied positively. Judging by the look on my parents' and Star's face, I'd say that these guardians are important governmental figures.

"It's up to Zero here to decide whether or not he wants to go with you two," my father said in a hopeful manner. My father was hoping? Why would I not want to learn. I loved to learn back on Earth, and I'm sure I'd love to learn here and now.

"I accept your offer, Spyro. I can't wait to learn!" I gleefully said to the purple drake, of which would smile at my energy. I can sense that my family was also happy, because not only will I be able to learn under the Gaurdians' aid, but I be learning with experienced individuals like Spyro and Cynder, and they are my age! I'm practically shaking with giddiness, but I didn't show it.

"Well then, I suppose that we'll see you in class very soon, Zero," Cynder said with a small smile towards me, from which I responded real soon. "Try to not let Volteer make you fall asleep though," she said whilst giggling afterwards.

We all exited the doors when we paid for our food and gobbled it down (especially me, it was so delicious!). I said by goodbyes to Spyro and Cynder, before we all went our separate ways. Star came up beside me as spoke to me.

"You're lucky, Zero. You've already gained the respect of the saviors of the whole world. I'd say you did a job well done." I was being praised by my sister… just like my human sister. I'd have to throw this out there and say that Star was just like her… Man, I'm getting emotional now.

"Thanks Star. I couldn't just stand there and let a dragon bully another. It's practically my calling to help out those in need." Star giggled at my sentence before nudging me playfully in the shoulder.

"Hey, at least it wasn't in vain. That schmuck of a dragon was probably some kind of trouble-maker already. You did fine for a quick brawl. You brought the escalation down before it exploded through the roof."

"Yeah, you're right Star. I did end that, didn't I? The lessons you and father taught me are finally kicking in I suppose."

We all stayed silent, my family being glad that I was okay. I'm glad that they all feel glad. There was usually a certain human father of mine that would let anything happen to me, and he'd never back me up. Damnit! Why am I remembering these things so vividly? I know that I shouldn't forget them, but come on! The worst memories are being remembered. I will personally bang my head against the nearest wall if I have to!

I was in my bed, curled up, wide awake. I hadn't slept for thirty minutes after we had gotten dinner and went home. I couldn't stop thinking about how much Cynder and Spyro had gone through so much to save all of the people in this world. They had probably defeated Malefor with their combined efforts, but they never parted ways once their job was done. They're practically best friends, and Spyro is one of Cynder's only friends judging from the look she gave me after I stood up to that arrogant drake.

I feel as if I've already made a difference by showing kindness to her. She had gone through so much, and I've heard from other dragons that she had once been under the control of Malefor. I feel sorry for her, having to live her life in a furious mess. But I don't fear her. The reason why is because she is misunderstood… just like I was. I just realize this now, but we have at least one thing in common, and that's our names. No, we don't have the same names, but the meaning is practically the same. It prevents us from gaining friends. Cynder is known as the Terror of the Sky. She did a lot of bad things, but it wasn't her fault, and yet citizens still treat her like shit. Come on people, she's a young dragon! She doesn't deserve this shit! And then there's my name; Zero. A name, in Greece, and probably here, meanings nothing. Literally. But I don't certainly feel like nothing. However, others think that I can't do much because my name means nothing. No matter them, this nothing is something. If I can be friends with Cynder, then it means I am doing something good, right? I sighed, snorting once. I closed my eyes after these thoughts. I was tuckered out from the day. I slept peacefully that night, knowing that my great deed was probably being remembered right now by Cynder, as well as Spyro.

 **P.O.V. Shift: Cynder**

I lay down in my bed, thinking about Zero, and how friendly he was towards Spyro, and me especially. Not only did he stand up to that senseless drake, but he even fought him, and rather quickly, to not only draw attention of the guards, but to protect Spyro and I before a fight between is broke out.

"I need to talk to Spyro. Perhaps he's thinking the same thing." I got up out of my bed, and stretched like a cat. Lying down in one place after a while makes you stiff. I moved over to the door of my room before gripping the doorknob with my paw, turning, and opening the the door, only to find that Spyro was frozen whilst reaching for the doorknob, his paw in mid-air.

"Thinking the same thing, Spyro?"

"That Zero stood up for you? Yeah…"

"He doesn't seem to fear me. He's much different than the rest. It's almost as if he's hiding something."

"You're sure about that, Cynder?"

"Yeah… once we've gained enough trust from him, maybe he'll open up."

"Sure thing. Let's just get to bed Cynder. After all, he'll be in class with us, surely by tomorrow. He seemed pretty excited to learn."

"Yeah. Good night Spyro," said Cynder with a smile, which she got the gesture returned to her. The two young dragons went to bed that night, wondering what exactly Zero was hiding.


	3. Learning From Scratch

**I'm really surprised. Already, I've received a lot of views. Must mean that the people reading his so far care. I'd'nt think that I'd be good enough to receive all of this praise and all that jazz. Thank you for the support.**

 **Anastasios**

 **P.O.V. Shift - Zero**

I felt an annoyance. Something was jostling me while I was sleeping. I moved my paw and swatted at it. It went away. I smiled, thinking that I had power. But it just came back! This pest is driving me insane! I opened my eyes, and glared at the pest. It turned out to be Star, who was awakening me for something… but what was it?

"Did you forget, Zero? The first day of school is today, for you at least," she said wearing this huge grin on her face. In my mind, I imagined myself get crushed by a pile of bricks as the realization hit me.

"...Are you serious!? Am I late!? I got to go! But where is it!?" I shot up out of the bed and onto the floor, only to become instantly dizzy. Shit, I stood up too fast. Meanwhile, Star was giggling at my predicament. One day Star, I'll take you down a notch… eheheheheh. I shook off my dizziness, and my senses finally kicked in. I smelled… a very delicious meal awaiting me to start me off on my day. Duty calls for the bottomless pit of a stomach I have. I chuckle in my mind before exiting my room, going down the stairs, with my tail swishing back and forth in agreement.

I stood in front of a temple of some sort. This was where Star led me to. She told me to wait for Spyro and Cynder here, so here I was, sitting on my haunches, with a bored look on my face. I'm guessing that this was where we would all learn about the history of dragons. I yawned loudly, but no one heard, likely because they weren't allowed on such sacred grounds. I decided then that I would pass the time by taking a short nap. I was awoken quite early as a matter of fact.

I had napped for a good bit when I was nudged by something soft, likely a wing. I cracked my eyes open, blearily looking around to find out who this was. My vision was clouded, so I blinked away the cloudy substance from my eye.

Confirming my suspicions, Cynder and Spyro were standing in front of me, Spyro smiling innocently, but Cynder, however, had a smirk gracing her lips.

"Napping? On the first day of school? If you were in class with Cyril, he would have likely gave you quite the scolding."

"Cyril..?" I said tiredly… my muscle were aching, likely from laying on hard ground for a while. "Who is Cyril?"

"One of the Guardian Dragons," Spyro chipped in. "He knows a lot about elemental attacks. There's also Terrador. He's the combat trainer. Finally, Volteer is the Guardian Dragon teaching about dragon history in general."

"Yeah, but watch out for Volteer. Once he starts talking, he'll bore you to sleep," Cynder said. I deduced that she had fallen asleep a couple times or so.

"Hey, his teachings are actually fun. It goes as deep as dragon ancestry, and how dragons first gained their elemental attacks, and then there is how the Guardian Dragons first formed, dragon anatomy…"

"Ugh. Spyro, you're starting to talk like Volteer." Cynder playfully whacked him in the wide of his head with her wing, just like how she nudged me with it. She motioned for us to follow her, and while Spyro was grinning with a blush, he started forward without a single hesitation. I hesitated to admire the deep friendship those two shared. It got me to wonder if there were any other dragons learning under the Guardians. I shook my head, chuckling inwardly, before I followed the two friends inside the temple. It looked small on the outside, but it was fucking massive on the inside! There were separate chambers, presumably the rooms where the Guardians had slept. There was also a large, spiral staircase, from which Cynder and Spyro were climbing. I felt that there was more than what met my eye, so I followed them up the stairs. I soon heard some voices, which gradually got louder as we got closer to the top. We eventually reached the top of the stairs, where the Guardians seemed to be in some kind of meeting in this classroom-esque environment.

"Good morning!" said the ever cheerful Spyro. The ice guardian, whom I assumed was Cyril, first locked eyes with Spyro, then glared at me. Was he supposed to be like this? Cyril was a cyan colored drake, with frill on the sides of his faces, and the membranes were a bright purple, the same as his wing membranes and underbelly. His wings were a duller cyan color, almost like ice. His spines were actually the color of ice. They also seemed jagged, and his tail tip even had six spikes of their own. There were a few white specks here and there on his body. His irises were a beautiful sky blue. Lastly, his horns took the appearance of ice stalagmites. This is such a majestic appearance for a dragon that seemed very judgemental. Ironic, don't you think?

"Spyro. Cynder. Who is this fellow dragon?" the ice guardian said coldly. Ha, coldly! Get it?.. I'll shut up.

"Cyril, this dragon stood up for Cynder yesterday. He also moved to Warfang the same day, and he got into a fight with a dragon who was antagonizing us. I'm afraid that things would have been much worse hadn't Zero stepped in. His family moved to Warfang so Zero could get educated," Spyro explained to Cyril, whose gaze softened after he finished explaining.

"Stood up for Cynder, you say?" spoke up the malachite colored dragon, presumably Terrador. Like I said before, his scales were the color of malachite. His horns, which seemed to take the appearance of jagged rocks, along with his spines, were an earthen color, along with his underbelly, frills, and his wing membranes, which had holes in them. His tail ended in a rock club of some sort. I wouldn't want to get hit by that anytime soon. It'd probably leave a bruise the size of my paw. There were some toxic green splotches in different areas of his body, and his eyes… toxic green as well. This dragon looked like he was ready for any kind of battle, by telling of his rough appearance.

"Y-yes… I did stand up for her. I don't care what she was originally known for. Cynder is a young dragoness. She shouldn't deserve any of this. It was Malefor's fault," I spoke calmly, feeling all eyes puncturing my skull.

"Well, Terrador? Should we allow this dragon in under our teaching? It's ultimately up to you," Cyril calmly said to Terrador, who was deep in thought. Terrador was weighing out the pros and cons, but it looked to be that the pros outweighed the cons, because he smiled and looked down at me.

"I believe we should Cyril. Zero has given Cynder the benefit of a doubt. He didn't care of what Cynder did under Malefor's control, instead, he did what no other dragon would even think of doing. Not only that, but he has a buried potential," Terrador said wisdomatically. My heart instantly skipped a beat. I wish I had a "that was easy" button right now.

"Well, you're all here just in time then. Except for another dragoness. She should be making her way here soon. Oh hoh! It's time to get class started! Come on now, Cynder, Spyro, Zero; make haste, come forward, scurry along at once!" spoke the electric guardian. This was obviously Volteer. And like Cynder said, he sure liked to talk. Volteer's scales were an electric yellow, with some lightning markings around his body. His underbelly, horns, spines, and wings were a lavender color. His wing membranes were a duller shade of electric yellow. His tail ended in two spikes curving and jutting out. His eyes were a peridot color, and they glowed with energy… I think I'm going to get shot one of these days.

I started walking forward to an empty desk, which I had just noticed, but there were no chairs. That makes much sense. We can just sit on all fours, unlike humans. It'd make things much easier if I could sit on all fours as a human. No more having to sit in chairs with criss-crossed legs.

Cynder and Spyro sat down next to each other in the same row as I was. Just as Volteer was about to open his mouth to speak, a shrill voice said, "Wait!" A feminine voice. I looked over at the top of the stairs, and a dragoness with periwinkle colored scales stood there, panting. She hurriedly scuttled on over to the fourth desk, with was beside me, before sitting her haunches. This must be the other student here. She had a white underbelly, and her horns were white, and spiraling back. Her tail ended in a sharp blade, similar to Cynder's. The most defining feature about this dragoness was that her scales shimmered a bright green from the sunlight shining through the window. I don't know how long I was observing her, but when she looked over at my way, I snapped out of my daze with a small red hue surfacing on my cheeks, and I looked away at Volteer.

"Welcome, welcome, Vita. You've arrived just before we were about to start. It would have been most substantially unfun hadn't you to arrive. I was about to get started on the origins of our ancient, primeval, prehistoric ancestors, and how we originated from them," he said excitedly. Man, this guy sure knew how to make up words from out of nowhere. And he seemed pretty excited to pass on his knowledge. But putting that aside, I'm going to learn how dragons came to be! I felt myself smile goofily at Volteer, from which he made note of my apparent eagerness to learn.

"The beginning of dragonkind did not begin with dragons. Many theorists originally thought this to be true, and so, theories sprung forth as to how we came to be. The theory that holds its place today to show the basis of whence we came forth, started at the beginning of the world being created. Or rather, heh, after it was created." _This sounds familiar_ I thought, intrigued that one of the theories of mankind exists in this world. "We all know that there are tiny organisms invisible to the naked eye, and we know this because dragons do get ill and become weak. What else could cause this kind of reaction? It would be preposterous, absurd, and even laughable to think that no such thing would ever exist. Those organisms eventually evolved into a wingless dragon, a lizard that I like to call it. Those lizards thrived in our world, just like how moles, dragons, and cheetahs thrive today. One day, a lizard, through means that we don't know of yet, was born with wings; the first dragon had been born that day." Huh. Must mean that no wings is a dominant gene, from my calculations that is. If there were many lizards without wings… then what happened to the lizards? I raised my front left paw, grabbing Volteer's attention.

"Yes, Zero? What is on your curious mind right now?"

"What exactly happened to the lizards? I've yet to see a single lizard. All I see is… well... us."

"Ah, yes, a very perplexing question. To tell the truth, not even I know!" I heard Cynder fighting the will to laugh. I'm going to guess that this is a first to her.

"However, dragons have this foreboding feeling that these lizards went extinct. All that was left were many dragons of all different kinds. It's astounding to think that in such a short period of time, a species went missing! What could have happened that made the lizards go extinct? It's frightening to think about what could have happened. But nevermind that, back on track."

"Soon, through sexual intercourse, more and more dragons were born into our world, and the dragon population began rising higher than the lizard population. Throughout every continent, dragons thrived and lived and prospered. The magnificence of it all is that we all could think and perform many tasks on a mind not quite so dumb, unintelligent, and dense. Our minds allowed us to live to this day. Spyro and Cynder, you two used your minds to defeat Malefor once and for all. You get to live to this day. We all do. All because of our brains. It holds a lot of power."

I nodded in agreement with Volteer's statement. This was turning out to be a blast already. There was so much I didn't know about dragon history, and now I'm learning this this very moment. I loved learning back on Earth… with all my friends. I wonder how they are doing… damnit. I'm getting emotional again. I'm guessing that Cynder noticed my sudden shift in atmosphere, because I felt a paw on my shoulder, prompting me to turn my head towards her. Spyro was also looking over at me, wondering why the sudden shift in mood took place.

"Are you okay Zero? You're crying…" I finally noticed the slickness of my cheeks, and indeed I was. Perhaps I was missing my friends. Perhaps I yearned for the happy memories of them. I shook my head, forcing a smile across my muzzle.

"Yeah… just reminiscing on some happy memories."

"Well I won't pry in on it. But should you need someone to talk to, Spyro and I are here for you." She gave me a comforting smile to me, which I returned without any force; an all natural smile of gratitude if you will. Volteer wasn't talking the whole time we did, and once we looked up and at him, we found him gazing down at us with a grin.

"Amazing. It seems you two are already great friends. I'm proud of you Cynder. And you as well Zero," Volteer said cheerfully. I felt embarrassed from feeling all of this attention on me, while Cynder looked to be completely fine. How does she put up with this exactly?

"Zero is your name, huh?" the periwinkle dragoness, Vita, said to me, with a hint of curiosity. I turned my head towards the dragoness whom I found was beautiful. Even then, I couldn't keep my heart rate from increasing. It's like talking to a high school crush.

"Y-yeah. And yours is Vita, right?" I received a nod of confirmation.

"Yes. I've heard of a silver-scaled drake who stood up for Cynder. That's you, right?"

"...Mhm..." Where was this leading?

"Then I would like to thank you. There needs to be more people like you standing up for her. You probably know of the reputation she has, right?"

"Right," I replied with distaste of the people acting towards her.

"Look out for her and be a friend. She'll do the same for you, and so will Spyro. I've stood up for her plenty of times. She trusts me because of that. She trusts you now. Don't lost her trust, alright?" she said with a hint of experience. I deduced that, from what Vita said, Vita protected Cynder a lot. Spyro must have been protecting Cynder since their arrival in Warfang… that was kind of romantic now that I think about it.

"Got it Vita." Finally we were all back on track again, and Volteer began speaking again.

"Elements. All a part of our ancestors origin. The lizards, though they were unable to breath any element, when the first dragon was born into the world, that dragon was able to breath the earth element. All different species of lizards produced different elemental dragons. From poison, to wind, and from electric to shadow, these newborn dragons brought forth a new period of time; the birth of the guardians. There were originally eight guardians, and every so generations, new guardians were brought forth. The guardians' elements were fire, electric, ice, earth, wind, poison, shadow, and the most uncanny of them all, fear." Fear? That was an element? Huh. Guess that I was missing some information from the original seven that I knew of.

"The guardians were the main protectors of dragonkind. They were also role models for many younger dragons. The younger dragons fight and battle and persevere through training, and they, in turn, get very strong, strong enough to protect themselves with ease. That right there is the dragon spirit, the flame dancing and burning with passion in our hearts," Volteer said with a wide grin.

"Our current guardians, myself included, were mostly wiped out, defeated, annihilated by Malefor. The fear, wind, poison, and shadow guardians were killed. That only left Terrador, Cyril, myself… and Ignitus."

I heard Spyro choke for a second before going into a hacking fit. Cynder was immediately at his side, whispering to him soothingly. Who was Ignitus? And why did Spyro react that way at the single mention of the guardian's name? My answer came very shortly.

"Ignitus was, in a way, Spyro's parent, and his only mentor. During the war, Spyro and Cynder were saved by Ignitus, but it was a sacrifice for his life. Ignitus perished in the Belt of Fire, while Spyro and Cynder had the whole world's fate on their shoulders." Immediately, I felt like a jackass for not knowing that Ignitus had sacrificed himself for the greater good. It not only let Spyro and Cynder save the whole world, but, it gave Spyro emotional damage. It was like me… when my father passed away on Earth. Damnit, stop it brain! Don't… cry…

"...I'm so sorry Spyro…" I whispered to him loud enough. Spyro wiped his eye with the back of his paw, before he forced a smile onto his lips whilst looking at me. "I-It's fine. I'm going to have to accept reality one of these days. I just wish… that I could have saved him."

"Spyro… it isn't your fault. Ignitus sacrificed himself out of love for you…" I heard Cynder say. Love… it was such an amazing, non-existent force. So strong… it can control you and make you never let go. I've never experienced anyone loving me… and I'm sure it won't happen anytime within the next month. I feel myself getting emotional again…

"Vita," I whispered. "Something tells me that those two are in love. I don't think they realize each other yet." The proof behind this was right in front of me. Spyro seemed to be contented by Cynder's presence. He also wore that dopey little smile on his muzzle. Those two indicators were the dead giveaway that Spyro loved Cynder. Cynder was hard to interpret, but I have a feeling she did as well.

"Agreed, Zero. Agreed." She whispered back. This heartwarming moment of true love and friendship has me sniffling for two seconds, and then Volteer speaks.

"This is all that I will teach today. While knowledge is very important, and I believe that it should be, it isn't reality, truth, nor accurate. Next, you will be training your elemental and combative skills with Terrador and Cyril. Now up you go, chop chop. I can imagine that Cyril does notl take kindly to lateness."

Cynder and Spyro stood up, and with Cynder's gaze locking onto mine, seemingly saying "follow us," I stood up from my haunches and began amble on behind her and Spyro, Vita quickly at my side after she got off her haunches. I hadn't noticed the archway leading into another room before. I guess my eyes were up in the blinding clouds. Awaiting past this archway was a large, circular room, with Cyril and Terrador awaiting us. Combat training. I knew how to fight, but I wouldn't be able to fight as well as the other three. So for now, I'm going to have to try as best as I could.

"Welcome. All of you. I suppose you learned a lot from Volteer, yes?" Terrador announced to us. I grinned at Terrador at the comment. He returned a small smile, knowing that we did indeed learn a lot.

"Yes, it was very great, Terrador. I've never knew so much about dragons than just a few moments ago. I'm fascinated ever so," I said, while Cynder just scoffed at me.

"How are you fascinated? I remember a certain dragonfly saying that Volteer's talking would bore anyone to sleep. What is your secret? And as a matter of fact, the same goes for you Spyro. How is it that the two of you can stay awake during his lessons?" Spyro and I locked eyes before looking back at Cynder simultaneously, both of us giving an innocent smile and the shrug of the shoulders. The black dragoness simply groaned at our naivety, before turning her head at a smirking Terrador.

"Anyway, let's begin our training session by testing our abilities. Zero, as you all know, is a new student because of his actions for Cynder. I'm thinking that we should have Cynder battle against him. Battles between dragons aren't just for show. Sometimes, it can sprout new relationships, and it can bring a dragon closer together in friendship. Cynder, Zero, does this sound fair to you two?" I looked over at Cynder, who seemed to be contemplating the proposal. A battle against a very well trained combateer? Welp, might as well surrender if this were a real battle, and she was still under Malefor's control. Cynder opened her maw and said,

"I'd be happy to, Terrador. I'm sure that Zero can handle a little bit of me. And I won't be holding back. Training means giving it your all each time, and not to just let it all blow over," the dragoness turned towards me, and held out a paw. "May the best dragon win."

She's wishing me good luck. Might as well take it. I reached out mine and grasped hers, in a pawshake. We let go, and Cyril was the one to confront me. He motioned for me to follow him to one end of the room with his head. Cynder was already making her way to her end. This should be very interesting. Though I'm sure that I know who the real victor will be in the end.

Once the two of us were in position, we stared at each other, awaiting the guardians' signal.

.

.

.

"Begin!" loudly said Cyril. It seemed as though the two of us had the same plan in mind, because I noticed that she circled me as I circled her; we were both sizing each other up, studying each other's movements, waiting for the other to make the first move. My thoughts got interrupted as Cynder shot forward, intending to take me with her sharp claws. My fight-or-flight response kicked in naturally, and my first choice was flight. I jumped back from her attacking claws, but then, using my hind legs, I rebounded forward and barrelled into the dragoness, sending us both to the ground. Whilst she was distracted with trying to shoot me off of her, I used my wind element to the advantage. The air picked up, and exponentially gained more speed. Cynder finally managed to push me off, which was what I wanted. I'm a smart mind in a battle, and that was one of the many talents I had. The air was gathering in a tight, compacted area above her, and as I was flying through the air, I released it. However, this wasn't part of the plan, as she seemed to have sensed it. Underneath Cynder, a black disc appeared, and she melted into it, turning into some kind of shadowy mass. A shadow dragon and a wind dragon, eh!? I instinctively flapped my wings hard, trying to keep from touching the ground, but I was too late because of the fact that I had watched Cynder perform her transformation. Feeling the full front of the attack as Cynder jumped out of the shadows, headbutting me right in the stomach. The air was nearly knocked out of me. Damnit, another unintended pun! I was sent flying skyward, but luckily, I managed to maneuver myself into a flying position. My stomach was stinging from Cynder's powerful headbutt. Growling competitively, I began engaging in another skill I had acquired before I got here to Warfang. I breathed out an icy mist over my front claws, and the ice gathered on the tips. Cyril seemed to be somewhat impressed by my display, of which I made a note of. I cut off my breath, and what I had created was a pair of razor sharp ice claws. Try saying that five times fast.

I darted upwards, before performing an aerial backflip, and nose diving towards the dragoness. I was secretly using the wind to speed me up to alarming speeds. Cynder once again saw through this obvious attack, because she jumped up into the air as I hit the ground below her. I shook the dust from the eyes, as I barely stood up before she came down and landed on my back, forcing me back down. I immediately felt a searing pain shoot up my left hind leg. She was trying to subdue me! Clever. However, I wasn't done. I turned over, toppling her like a house of cards. I got up quickly, and with one quick swipe, I raked my claws against her flank, causing her to cry out in pain.

There was no time to be remorseful. If this was a war right now, I'd be dead for simply feeling bad for the enemy. I instantly moved when I noticed her about to get back onto her paws. I shoved the dragoness over with my body, and I moved atop her body. I successfully managed to pin her her forepaws and hindpaws… Did I just win? There was no order saying the battle was over… so why is Cynder smirking? All of a sudden I felt very tired, feeling my energy draining out of my body. I instantly collapsed against Cynder's body, and I felt her shift around and remove herself from neath me. She took her time to pin me, turning the tables. I felt her tail blade press against my neck, along with a sickening substance. That's when it hit me; "poison…" I mumbled weakly. It must have happened when I had received the leg wound. It makes sense now.

"This duel is over, with the victory going to Cynder," Cyril announced aloud.

I felt the pressure of Cynder leave my back, followed by a gentle prickling sensation on my wound where she had poisoned me.

"I've given you the antidote, Zero. It was a nice duel while it lasted. You have a lot of potential, I admit. It was just unused," she said, sort of complimenting me. I felt my strength slowly but surely seeping back into my body, and I turned over onto my stomach, looking at the guardians. They seem to be pleased with how I lasted that long against a well trained foe.

"A well job done on both ends. Zero, I know that you fought well, but judging by the fact that you are a bit more less experienced, did you have to fight at all during the war," Terrador inquired.

"No… it was mainly my father who defended us. The best part is him coming home each time there was a scouting party, or a force meant for destruction. I sort've taught myself. My mother saw my inexperience, and now I'm here." I'm on my paws by the time I finish this sentence. Terrador calmly judged me for a few moments before shaking his head whilst smiling all the way.

"Like Cynder said, you have potential, it just went unused. Cyril, you will first teach Zero how to properly use elemental attacks. And since Zero also displays wind attacks, Cynder, since you are the only other wind dragon here, you will aid Cyril. I'll oversee Spyro and Vita's battle for now. Cyril, lead them to the other room, please," Terrador said calmly. I just realize now that since Ignitus was gone, Terrador was now the leader of the guardians. No wonder Cyril and Volteer took orders from him.

Cyril, with the flick of his tail, gestured Cynder and I to follow him into once again another room with an archway that I did not notice again. This was going to become a theme rather soon, wasn't it?

We were lead into a large, circular room, just like the other room where Cynder and I fought each other. There was nothing special in this room, other than the insignias of the elements, from fire and all the way to fear. We eventually arrived in the center of the room, where Cyril turned around to face us.

"Zero. This, is my class. I will be teaching you about harnessing your elemental powers. What I saw back there with your ice breath was truly spectacular. Not very many can make weapons out of their elements. However, you need more finesse, and especially, more strength, which is why Terrador instructed me to teach you in this art." I nodded slowly in understanding. I knew that I was sloppy. I only strived to be better, just like how my family wanted me to do.

"We'll start off with a simple task, and that is to freeze the floor underneath your foes. If done correctly, the floor should be slick with ice. It usually results in them toppling over. If done incorrectly, nothing happens at all, or at the most, your opponent's mobility is halted." Cyril decided to demonstrate this maneuver when he opened his maw, and a quick, icy bolt shot out at the floor beneath Cynder. The ice immediately spread out a good five feet in radius, and I heard Cynder yelp at the sudden attack towards her, followed by a thud, and a groan. I looked over at Cynder, and she was glaring annoyedly at Cyril, whom held a ghost of a smile.

"Now then, Zero, while I won't have you practice on Cynder, like I just did, I'll have you do it on a dummy. All you have to do is concentrate your ice stream breath into a single point, and point it at the ground below a target, and then let go." I noticed all of the spare parts, which I hadn't noticed beforehand… damnit. They all started shaking, and then they moved and pieced together into the dummy Cyril was talking about. Looked up at Cyril, I waiting for his instruction. I received a slight nod after a few seconds, and I focused my eyes at the dummy, and then at the ground. I opened my maw, and I brought forth an ice breath attack, only I held it in place. I felt the pressure build up more and more. It seemed like it was about to burst at any moment.

Once I felt it reach the required amount of power it needed, I let the attack go, making sure to aim it at the floor. The floor beneath the dummy froze, and the dummy slipped and fell, falling into pieces once more. I did it! I did something! I felt a bit of pride within myself, knowing that I had succeeded first try.

"Great job, Zero. I didn't do as well my first time with that attack, I admit." This was going to be fun and strenuous.

Hoo… I was winded. Cyril and Cynder together helped me improve my attacks with ice and wind. On top of that, Terrador had us come back in, and I was told to fight Spyro and Vita… I lost both battles. Terrador told me that he would tend to me tomorrow so I can touch up on some basic attacks and a few advanced ones. I definitely deserved a rest after today, but right now, I was hungry, so the four of us were walking through the streets of Warfang to eat up at a another restaurant. We all made conversations with each other, getting along just nicely. I was speaking to Vita.

"So, Vita, how did you get to know Spyro and Cynder?" I asked her, feeling rather curious of her background.

"Same way as you Zero. Just another dragon, just another fight, and just another friendship," she replied back with a small smile. Gods… even her smile was beautiful! One of these days… wait? Am I to accept that I have a crush on Vita at first sight? It couldn't be… Anywho, one of these days, I'm going to have to take Vita for a treat. But only when it is well deserved. I know I'm stupid, but I am not that stupid.

"Interesting. Were you always here in Warfang? Or were you born outside of the city?"

"Inside Warfang was where I was born. I grew up here, and managed to survive the war in underground safe houses. I was scared the whole time to be quite honest," Vita said with a laugh.

"I mostly avoided the war. My family and I were in the forest, and my father fended off most of the grublins that dared to attack us. I was mostly scared for my father's life…" my voice trailed off at that. My human father had once almost died in a car accident during my childhood. He was drunk, but he could drive. One of the parts on his truck went bad, and it sent him into a pole, causing a chemical fire. My cousin had pulled him out after going after him. I was so shaken up that day.

I guess Vita noticed my prolonged silence, because I felt her looking at me as I looked down with a sullen gaze. "Zero? Are you okay?" I looked up at her with teary eyes.

"I… I don't want to lose my father. Or anyone. I'll be all alone. Again." Just like how I was back on Earth… Shit, I acted suspicious there. But luckily, Vita viewed it as a scary experience rather than suspicion.

"Spyro, Cynder, go on ahead and get us a table." Vita shouted ahead, from which Spyro replied with a "yup!"

I had stopped walking at this point and I sat down on my haunches, letting the tears drip onto the ground. It was so painful to even think of what happened to my family when we moved to that port town. It was so depressing… so stressful. So heart weakening. I don't want this to happen with my current family. I don't want to end up going through depression again.

"The memories… they hurt!" I shouted feebly at nothing. I felt my head being drawn inwards, while a pair of soft wings wrapped around my back. Vita was trying to comfort me. So what did I do? I cried it out into her scaly chest. Sure, we did get some odd looks, but it was like the moment blocked off the whole world. I needed some comforting. This day was truly emotionally nerve-wracking. My shoulders jolted with each pathetic little hiccup out of me…

"Look at me… I'm supposed to be a drake, not a bawling hatchling," I mumbled into Vita.

"It's bad to keep your emotions bottled up. You were doing it during Volteer's lesson. Why were you crying, then and now?" Vita asked of me…. I can't trust Spyro, Cynder, or Vita enough yet. They probably wouldn't believe me right now.

"...Just some memories that I'd rather not relive. I'll talk about it when I am feeling up to it. For now… just no," I replied for pulling away with a soft smile plastered in my muzzle.

"Thank you… y'know, for comforting me."

"Anytime, Zero. After all, any friend of Cynder and Spyro is my friend. Speaking of friends, let's not keep them waiting."

We both started heading forward to catch up with our friends. Terraform was right; my battle with Vita started our friendship, and now ours was a little stronger than before. Hopefully this stays this way for a while. I remember that I had secluded myself away from most of my friends on Earth. I wonder how they are doing…

 **P.O.V. Shift - Vita**

We all left the restaurant happy that our bellies were bulging. We all waved Zero goodbye as he left us, probably going to go home. Once he turned the corner, I turned towards Spyro and Cynder with a hardened gaze.

"Something is up with Zero," I said, getting straight to the point. Spyro looked at me meekly, along with Cynder.

"We already know this. It seems like he doesn't want to talk about it, whatever it is," the purple drake said.

"Well, what I do know is that it has something to do with his family. Zero doesn't want whatever happened to happen again. I… had to comfort him. It seems to be that bad of a memory. It all started at the mention of his father," I explained to them. "He also has some trust issues. He'll tell us when the time comes, he said."

"For now though, we'll have to help Zero. He's our friend, and he is in need.

Sound like a plan you two?" Cynder said. Of course it was a plan. No one objected towards this idea at all. After all, the other two dragons were saved by the other dragon. It was only natural to help Zero all the way. The drake was in need, and right now, us three are his only friends in Warfang. I still can't help but wonder why he cried. What was that memory that made him cry so much? Why is it feeling like Zero is hiding a secret from us? I guess we'll find out eventually… I hope he gets a good night's rest tonight. He needs to after today.


	4. Dreams Scare Me Part One

**LI hate writing descriptions for characters, but it must be done. Also, this chapter will be filled with dark segments. Why? Because this is the chapter where Zero's depression from the human world will start to kick in. Slowly but surely, Zero's whole personality and attitude will change. That's what slowly happened to me over the years when I moved to my new home.**

 **Anastasios**

 **P.O.V. Shift - Zero  
**

I lay in my bed, thinking about the the sudden memories I've been seeing from Earth. What exactly do they mean? Why am I remembering this? I need to just move on! I need to forget the past, and focus on the present and future. This isn't healthy, nor is it beneficial to me… maybe a good night's rest will help out. Yeah, that will definitely work. I curled up, with my tail laying across my snout. I closed my aquamarine colored eyes, and after a few minutes, I fell asleep… my final thoughts before I succumbed to rest were about both of my families. I didn't want to leave my current one, but at the same time… I yearned for my human family. I missed them so much, yet I didn't want to be gone from this family…

* * *

I opened my eyes, and all I saw was darkness. A void of nothingness except for black. I looked down, and there was nothing supporting me, but yet I stood on something indiscernible. I felt as though I was here for a reason. I couldn't pinpoint as to why. I spoke.

"Hello? I-is anyone there?" Surprisingly, I received a response back, only in a way that I didn't expect for my response to come. A pair, of sickening, evil-looking, yellow eyes with slitted pupils, appeared in my field of vision. I immediately felt a sense of fear course through my veins. I shrank back from the sickening yellow eyes. Why is my body reacting in such a way!?

"I know, what you are," came the ghastly-sounding voice that sent tremors quaking through my legs. I look up at the the rising yellow eyes, and then a black mass blacker than the void I was in (How was this even possible!?) rose and grew.

"W-what do you mean? I am who I am!" I said with apprehension. I didn't like this at all. If this was in an abandoned school, I was going to nope the fuck out of here. I received a sinister chuckle in reaction with my fearful response. This asshole was taunting me!

"If you choose to believe that, then believe it; I won't stop you. But what I can do is help you get back home, but with a catch." Now this sounded enticing, despite the whole terrifying feeling inside this void.

"You must serve me for a short while until I awaken once more. I'll check on you every few nights. You'll receive a set of tasks that you must complete within each break between the nights. If they aren't performed, then you will never go home. You. Will. Never. Go. Back. To. Your. Other. Family." Each word out of his mouth was like a knife stabbing further. And further. And further, into my body, until it hit my heart with its pointed and jagged tip. Should I accept this? Who was this dragon anyway?

"You'll find out who I am soon enough, youngling." ...Did he just read my mind? With a dark laugh, he exited the void, leaving me alone. I was so shaken by the experience. I really did want to go home, but how do I define home? Here… or there? However, I couldn't just leave Star, Mother, and Father behind. They'd be mourning for my loss. I mean, my human family are probably sad, but I was less connected to them than my current one. I wasn't going to let some entity in my dream take control of my life!

I awoke with a start, sweating like an ape who had exercised for far too long. I licked my salty lips, trying to get a sense of moisture into my mouth, but to no avail, they were still dry. I quickly got out of bed, and exited my room. I made my way to the bathroom, where I could look into the mirror and check myself out. Eugh… that wasn't looking too well… I had a few loose scales, likely from the stress of the nightmare that I had during my sleep. On top of that… my eyes were completely bloodshot. I didn't sleep well, and it was only worsening when I considered that it was morning. The moles had created a plumbing system, which was fantastic. I reached my paw up and over the sink to the cold water handle. I let the water fill up the sink before I sunk my head into a cold vat of water. I swished my head back and forth, trying to get rid of the dirt and grime plaguing my face from the restless night. Some of the loose scales fell off too. I'll have new scales before I knew it. I pulled my head out, my face dripping wet. I looked in the mirror, and I looked only a bit better… it will have to do. I've got to get to the temple and tell everyone of what had happened… this was far too undiscerning for me to ignore. It was also very frightening. Who was that in my dream?

* * *

"And that's what happened in that messed up nightmare," I huffed out, feeling my heart tremble after retelling the whole thing, putting in almost every detail, except for the first words that the unknown dragon said.

Judging by the grim looks of the guardians', as well as Spyro and Cynder's, they felt some sort of familiarity. "Zero, was there anything else you could distinguish from this ghostly dragon?" Terrador said with a little bit of distaste.

"...No. Except, that he wanted me to become some sort of servant for him. Nothing else."

"That sounds just like Malefor," Cynder managed to point out. "When I hatched from my egg, I was nothing more than his servant performing his dirty deeds for him… I killed so many innocent people… even the children…" she casted her gaze down, herself feeling downcast.

Spyro frowned at Cynder for mentioning such an appalling subject. He retorted with a hint of caring anger at Cynder. "Cynder, it wasn't your fault! One of these days, I will convince everyone that you've changed. Malefor is to blame for your reputation!" Spyro's voice then began to soften. "Please… don't put yourself down like that… I hate to see you acting like this towards yourself." Spyro gave Cynder a worried, yet caring smile. Cynder looked up and into Spyro's amethyst colored eyes, and she smiled lovingly at his caring attitude. It doesn't seem like those two are going to get together anytime. Spyro was a bit naive. Perhaps I should play Cupid one of these days.

"Yes, it does sound like Malefor, Cynder," Cyril inquired. "But it doesn't mean that this entity is indeed Malefor. It may be just a nightmare. Spyro, didn't you seal him in the core of the planet?"

"Well, yeah," Spyro turned his attention towards Cyril with a bit of doubt crossing his eyes. "But it doesn't mean that Malefor couldn't have used Dragon Time to escape. After all, the Chronicler did say to me that Dragon Time is one of the many abilities a PURPLE dragon can wield. Malefor was a purple dragon. It makes much more sense now…"

"Spyro, are you saying that Malefor may have escaped his prison, and that he is resting somewhere?" Terrador said with unease in his voice. It was obvious that no one wanted to go up against Malefor again…

"It seems farfetch'd, but it's a viable possibility, a high chance, and very likely! This would be terrible if it was so!" Volteer exclaimed, before he returned to his thoughts. Just what went on in Volteer's brain? I then started to imagine mini Volteer's causing chaos in his head… hehehe.

"So, what do we do? Do we keep training? Or do we search for Malefor?" I asked the guardians. I received a response from Terrador.

"Well, since this has some connection to you, Zero, we have no choice but to train you further and harder. Malefor has some kind of interest in you for some reason, and not in Spyro or Cynder. All we know is that he is hiding something, and it's likely something not especially safe for Zero, nor is it good for everyone else," Terrador say grimly, his eyes showing pity for me. Why am I involved? Is it because that I was a human before I was a dragon? And how did Malefor know this? Perhaps… he had a role in this.

"Zero, it was a brave thing to do to notify us despite Malefor's appearance. He could take control of you if he appears in your dreams. This choice will likely have repercussions, but this is the right choice," Terrador said with a hardened gaze. He seemed surprisingly calm despite the situation. I nodded meekly for Terrador, feeling myself shrink before his gaze. Never had I seen him more serious. He was looking more serious than Cyril! Terrador must have sensed my unease, because he then softened his stares.

"Come on now, young ones, we have to prepare for the day. We're starting with combat training, an-"

"Wait, what!? My muscles are aching from yesterday's workout!"

"Do you want to be ready for battle? Or would you rather die from complaining of aching muscles? In this world, if Malefor's about, it's kill, be killed, or die with a fighting spirit. You must take the pressure and beatings if you want to survive his wrath. You. Must. Fight. On," Terrador cut me off abruptly, leaving me standing there stupidly, with my stupid mouth opening and closing, my voice trying to escape its threshold, but to no avail. I decided to shut my mouth after a few moments, and my gazed solidified.

"I understand Terrador. I'll stop complaining. I'll rest when you give me the command to."

"That's the spirit, Zero. Now come on, if Malefor's out and about, then we have to train harder. Volteer, I'm sorry to say this, but your lessons are on hold for a while. You have to help train the younglings with Cyril and I." Volteer mood lessened slightly, but he complied anyway. Volteer smiled once more, and he, and the other guardians, motioned us to follow them to the dojo room. Vita would be joining us soon, I knew that for a fact.

"Are you all ready? We will begin shortly."

* * *

I stood, heavily bruised, and panting excessively. I was up against Spyro, and the drake has a little less bruises and cuts than I did. "I'm…huff… not giving up. Not just yet, Spyro!" I said between breaths, before mustering up a steely resolve to fight on. If this was life or death, and I was going to be fighting to defend my future family… I'd rather go down fighting than give up! I mustered up a snarling roar despite my weakness. Spyro grinned at my fighting spirit, and he growled ferociously in determination. Our eyes locked; amethyst against aquamarine. We both charged at each other, not a single of us backing down. Once we were within fighting distance, I brought up my claw, and feinted a left swipe, before following up with an uppercut towards the purple drake's chin. My claws sliced at thin air, and I felt a pair of claws rake against my back. With my adrenalin pumping throughout my body, I jumped up quickly, smashing the top of my head into Spyro's chin, earning a yowl of pain from the drake. I've been training hard yesterday, and now I was training once again today. Terrador's struck one my my chords deeply. I needed to protect not only myself, but those around me. I had to. It was practically my calling to help those in need.

Spyro spun dizzily in the air before righting himself, shaking the stars out of his eyes vigorously. The drake had a fire in his eyes; a will to not back down. The fire within expelled itself outwards as Spyro breathed out fire at me. I took off to the air, pumping my wings hard, trying to avoid the fire. A lucky breath came flying straight at me. I used the power of wind to expel it away from me. I sucked in air so much air that it felt as if my lungs were about to explode, then I released it in a furious gale force, not only dissipating the fire, but I also managed to send Spyro flying into the wall behind him. The force of the impact even made me cringe. The next thing I heard was a groan, followed by the thump on the floor. I opened my eyes and saw Spyro sprawled on the floor nearest to the impact site on the wall. Spyro was getting back up, and despite the bruise now forming between his wings, he looked ready to go. Just what was with purple dragons and their endless source of power!?

I frowned at the situation. I'm more tired than Spyro, yet he just keeps getting up over and over again. What do I do? Should… should I freeze him? No. He has that fire breath of his. With a sigh, I stared angrily at the drake, about to fire off an ice shot at the floor. However, little did I know that I wouldn't be able to do that in time. Spyro suddenly rose up from the floor, sparks flying out of his body. He eventually became encompassed in an electric sphere. Oooooooooh shit. A surge of electricity flashed out, and hit me out of the sky like a bullet against a clay pigeon. I hit the ground rather painfully. Ow ow ow! Did I just land on a sharp rock!? I wheezed when I felt something puncture my shoulder a little deeply. I felt a warm and sticky substance flow from the wound. My blood. I was still being shocked too, which didn't help. Spyro was trying to keep me immobilized. I heard his claws clicking against the floor, and I watched with paralyzation as he pinned down my paws, front and back.

"Spyro… I need…" I choked out. Spyro grew a look of pure horror on his muzzle after realizing that I sounded weaker than I should. He looked frantically at the blood beneath me. It was blocked by my body from sight. Typical. Unknown wound until it was too late. I had many cuts on my body that didn't scab over during our huge brawl. I had lost a decent bit of my life fluid, and I felt as though I was on the brink of passing out.

"T-T-Terrador! We need some assistance!" Spyro stammer shouted. A few minutes later, I felt my body being turned over to reveal the sharp stone. I felt a paw grasp the stone, and- FUCK! WHY DID THEY PULL IT OUT THAT FAST! I screeched loudly from feeling something foreign be forcefully ripped from my flesh. Instantly, I felt a lot better, and not only that, but I felt the wounds on my body start to mend and knit themselves back together. It was also at this moment to that I finally passed out. The last words I heard before my vision faded to black were from Terrador.

"Rest now, Zero. You've fought well." I also heard another voice. A dark, and sinister voice.

"Let the games begin… hehehehehe…" No…

 **P.O.V. Shift - Spyro**

Zero had finally passed out from exhaustion. Good. He needed the rest. He had been worked down to the bone. However, just as I had turned my back to him, I heard a scuttling noise, followed by limbs moving. I turned my head back around to face Zero. I wish I hadn't, yet at the same time, I'm glad I did. Zero was standing upright. And his eyes… they were a sickly yellow. And not that pretty shade of blue. "Terrador!" I shouted, after finally knocking myself out of my stupor. Terrador looked back, and he sure did look as baffled as I did.

"No… this is not good. I sense an endless source of pure evil coming off him!"

Evil… it clicked in my head.

"Malefor has control of Zero!" I managed to spit out before I was whipped across my face by a gust of wind, sending me hurtling down to the floor roughly. Cynder was immediately at my side. Normally, if this wasn't a grim situation, I'd be smiling at her. But for now, we had to subdue the Malefor-stricken Zero.

"Spyro, are you okay?" Cynder's worried voice sounded to me. I forced myself onto my paws, and I shook my body from my head down to my tail.

"Yeah. Thanks Cynder. But my well-being is not our biggest concern right now. We need to help Zero by getting rid of Malefor." I spotted Vita off to the right, contemplating on when she would come in to help in the new battle.

"Volteer! Do you know why Zero is being targeted?" I shouted to the intellectual guardian.

"Well, I-I-I don't have many theories, but perhaps it has to do with his secrets!" Volteer shouted over the mess. I looked back over at Malero; that's the name that I've given to this hybrid. Malero looked to be ready to start attacking once more. He turned to face Terrador, whom would quietly fixate his eyes on the small drake.

"Terrador…" It didn't help that his voice sounded just like Zero! "I remember you being quite a pain during the war. Just like Loud Mouth and Mr. I-Brood-Over-Everything. I'm going to _enjoy this_ while I can…"

"That shall not happen Malefor," Terrador spoke calmly. Malero laid his eyes on Cynder and I before grinning maniacally. That did not look natural on Zero. The corrupt dragon began walking around in circles, stooping lowly, like a cat stalking its prey. "Ahhhh yes… Cynder. And Spyro. The ones who almost defeated me. ALMOST. Defeated me. But alas, things are not meant to be, and I don't go down that easily. You managed to even save your pathetic _world_ ," he said venomously. I growled deeply at Malero in response. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cynder staring at Malero with a huge load of malice, and 'I'm about to kick his ass.'

"This time, however, things shall be different. You won't be able to find where I lie quite as easily as you found me after you both were encased in that useless crystal."

This time, Malero lashed out with his sharp claws after quickly darting towards hissed and shot out a glob of poisonous goop at Malero's claw, forcing him to use his ice element to freeze the goop mid-air. With a snarl, Malero pounced upon us, but we sidestepped a good distance before he could sink his claws into us. "Cynder, we have to subdue him somehow!" I said to the black dragoness, whom looked over at me with a nod. Suddenly, the situation took a turn for the worse, and Malero rose up into the air, his body glowing a bright blue; a storm was brewing. This will not turn out well at all! I felt heat well up in my mouth, and I released torrents of flames at Malero. Cynder began doing the same, only using her poison. Nothing was working! It wasn't going to end anytime soon! That is, until Vita came from up above and smashed into Malero, and surprisingly, she dropped him from the air, cutting his attack off. Vita took the chance to dart away while Malero was clambering onto his paws.

"Cynder, use your fear element! Zero is still in there! Which means he'll want to get away!" Volteer shouted to the black dragoness. I saw a look of pure terror cross her features. I knew she didn't like to use that element at all, but we had no other options at this point. Cynder, with great agility, moved her way in front of Malero as he was getting up. It was about to go down. Cynder opened her maw, and a red pulse of the fear element shot out, impacting the drake head on. Malero suddenly looked up at Cynder. He looked… fearful!

"Volteer, it's working!"

I watched as his irises switched back to that aquamarine color. Zero was back. "Cynder, that's enough!" The dragoness shut her maw with the clack of her teeth, and she fell to the floor, looked very distressed about the fact that she had to use her fear element. I saw streams of tears roll down her cheeks as I made my way over to the two. The now returned Zero was hyperventilating, likely scared of Cynder. "Cynder? It's okay… you did good today." I saw Vita rush to Zero's aid, and she began whispering and cooing to him. I tended to Cynder in the meantime, leaning down closer to her head. However, before I could speak, she turned suddenly and reached out with her paws, pulling me in close, and weeping into me. I understood that she needed a shoulder to lean on, so I wrapped my forelimbs around her flanks, gently squeezing the black dragoness. It was over… for now. Who knew when Malefor was going to take control of Zero again. After a few moments, Cynder was down to a few sniffles, while Vita had managed to get Zero to start breathing somewhat regularly.

"This is not very good, Terrador. Malefor took control of Zero. We may never know when this will happen again, if at all it does. I propose for someone to stay at Zero's side for a while…" Cyril mumbled to the aforementioned guardian. Terrador nodded at Cyril's plan, seemingly agreeing with it.

"Yes, Cyril. I believe that is a splendid idea." He shifted his gazes to Vita and Zero. "Vita… will you watch over Zero? This will be quite a dangerous task, but I believe you are up to the test."

"I will, Terrador. Zero needs our help now. Not only that, but I'm sure that Cynder needs Spyro right now. She is shaken up badly. I'll escort Zero home, and explain the situation to his family. I suppose that I need to stay with him, no?" Vita received a nod from the elder guardian. "Alright. Come on Zero, let's go home…" I feel bad for Zero. He is the puppet of Malefor right now. However, one question remained on my mind retaining to that; how did Malefor gain access to Zero's mind..?

 **P. O. V. Shift - Vita**

"I'm going to be looking after Zero for a while. It's Malefor that ails him. I will try and not intrude on your family businesses," I huffed out to Zero's parents. I felt my breath catch in my throat a lot during the whole explanation of what had transpired hours ago. Zero's father was frowning at the situation. Zero's mother looked as if she were on the brink of tears. "I hope you don't me living here for a while either," I added.

Aelius spoke to me with seriousness embedded in his tone of voice. "Thank you for letting us know of this situation. If the guardians believe that you should look after him, then by all means, come on in. I appreciate your demeanor. Not very many people are friends with our son. I'm glad that you are willing. Anyways, welcome to our humble abode, Vita." I smiled at Aelius's slight enthusiasm. Zero's parents were typical parents; always constantly worried about the safety of their children. However, they seemed to be very, very close with each other. I can't help but feel myself smile even further, before I escorted the unconscious Zero, who lay strewn across my back, into the house after Aelius and Godiva let me past them. Upon entering the house, I immediately heard a gasp come from the right. Zero told us that he had a sister. I looked over to the right, and even I gasped. She was so beautiful! Probably more pretty than Cynder and I. I feel a little bit jealous, but I quickly brushed it aside.

"What's going on? Who are you? What happened to Zero?" Immediately, Star was over at my side, inspecting Zero's prone form.

"Relax, Star. I'm Zero's friend, Vita. Let's just say that Malefor is not finished… and that he took over Zero. I was assigned to watch over him by the guardians. Could you show me where Zero's room is? He needs a lot of sleep and rest."

Star looked over at me oddly as the realization struck her hard. She awkwardly, yet shakily, replied with a, "...yes… I'll show you where his room is." Deep inside, I can imagine her heart racing at a miles per second, though she didn't show it. I felt sorry for the bigger sister.

Star walked me up the stairs, and to a room whose door was an aero and ice blue mix. Star opened the door for me, and I thanked her gratefully. I didn't want to risk Zero falling and banging his head against the floor. Star closed the door after I went in, and I heard her walk off and down the stairs.

I looked around the room, and there wasn't much to it. A bed, a desk with some parchment on it with some ink, something called a lamp, which were built by the moles. It can provide light seemingly out of nowhere. I never understood the technology of the moles. It's such a complexity of which my feeble brain can't handle. I immediately made my way over to his bed, and I tilted my body, causing Zero to slide off and onto the soft mattress of his bed. I gazed over his resting form, and I felt sorry for the young drake. Stress is being forced upon him, which isn't good at all, especially since it's coming from Malefor. I gazed up towards his resting face. Zero looked very peaceful. _And handsome_. Wait, where did that thought come from? I felt my blood rush to my cheeks from staring at his face. Sure, the drake was handsome and cute, but there's no way I was feeling an attraction to him already. We had just met. I'll just wait things out and determine if I do from there. From what I already know, Zero is a sweet and nice drake. He's willing to help out anyone who's being discriminated against them. But, now it's our turn to help him. I glance once more over his figure, before silently creeping out of his room, shutting the door back into its frame softly. I'm rather tired too after all has happened regarding Malefor and Zero.

* * *

I was in the guest bedroom, sleeping soundly, when I heard groaning come from Zero's room beside it. It was loud too, and slowly but surely, I was awoken. I blinked my eyes blearily a couple times, trying to blink away the cloudiness. It took me a moment to register what was exactly going on, and my eyes closed before shooting wide open. "Zero!" I hoarsely cried out, the aftereffects of sleep affecting my voice. There was no time to stretch. Something was going on. I quickly darted off the bed and landed on my paws. I exited through the door, not bothering to close it at all.

I ran to Zero's room and swung the door open as fast as my paw could whilst balancing on three legs. I ran in, and saw that Zero was writhing on the bed, and it didn't help that his face showed a look of pure terror and fright. I ran over to his side, take his head into my paws.

"Zero! Zero!" I uttered. "Wake up! It's just a dream!" My words worked like magic. Zero's eyes shot open, revealing pinpricks of those aquamarine eyes. They were darting around wildly, until they rested on my eyes. Instantly, I was hugged by Zero, his body shaking against mine.

"P-P-Please… don't go," the drake whispered vibrationally. I wrapped my paws around him after a few seconds, before whispering to him.

"I won't. It was just a dream, Zero. Tell me about it, if you feel up to it," I said, feeling very sorry for Zero. Zero opened his closed eyes and looked at my before speaking slowly, his voice wavering ever so slightly.

"S-so many bodies… littering and burning in the field. The stench… so disgusting… sickening. I watched my friends… my family… stricken down. They were all looking at me with regret, love… then their dead faces turned to hatred. Why? Why is this happening to me? Why Vita!?" he wailed sorrowfully, tugging on my heartstrings hard.

"It's Malefor. He's the only other explanation for this…" I said.

"Vita… please stay with me. I can't stand being alone…" he requested quietly. It was watching a hatchling crying for its mother. He, and the hatchling, were so vulnerable… so I complied with his request.

"I won't leave you, Zero," I whispered to his before I climbed up into the bed with him. This wasn't a romantic thing at all; just two friends comforting each other. However, as I was about to settle down on the other side of the bed, I yelped as I was being pulled towards Zero with his strong grip. He looked straight into my eyes, his own shaking unsteadily.

"I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up. I want to be able to at least know that you were here for me the entire time." He said with shaky breathing. He seemed to be calming down with my close presence, and before I knew it, he clos d his eyes and went to sleep. He's so… innocent. I can't help but smile, before closing my eyes, drifting to sleep in his forearms. Moments like these, I will cherish always.

 **P. O. V. Shift - Zero**

I felt very warm when I woke up, and I also felt the faintest of breaths on my muzzle. I fluttered my eyelids blurrily, and I blinked away the eye boogers obstructing my vision. I instantly saw who the breaths belonged to, and I was so overcome with joy. I had made it through the night! And Vita… she stayed by my side, sleepily mind you. Seeing her in one piece, and right by my side was a sight to behold. Vita looked rather peaceful and beautiful when she was asleep, which I shoved deep into the confounds of my mind. However, all things great and good must come to an end, so I gently nudged her with my paw.

"Pssst… Vita. It's morning." I immediately received a groan, whilst she shoved my paw away in deep sleep. I frowned, before I shoved a little bit harder. This time, it had its magic. Vita's eyes started moving behind her lids, and her beautiful garnet colored eyes showed themselves to mine. "Good morning Vita."

Vita looked at me sleepily before stifling a yawn. "Morning, Zero…" the dragoness mumbled. She looked up and down at me blearily, before shrugging it off and removing herself from close quarters.

"Vita… thank you… for, y'know, staying with me during the night. The nightmare was so horrible… I don't think I would have been able to sleep at all. It was like you stopped them… so thank you…" I uttered quietly to her. I felt embarrassed saying this. I literally begged a dragoness to sleep beside me, and one that I had just met merely two days ago. Of course it was awkward to be saying this!

"It's fine… uwaaah~, Zero," Vita replied with a yawn mid sentence. No wonder she was late for class sometimes. Vita must be a heavy sleeper.

"I'm sure my family is worried sick about me… let's not keep them waiting any longer!" I quickly uttered, trying to escape the awkward situation. Vita didn't seem to care about the fact that she had to sleep right next to me. She probably understood that I needed her at my side… I never had many friends. I was lonely. When I was a hatchling, and until only two days ago. Vita, Spyro, Cynder, the guardians if you counted them… I wasn't much of a social person back on Earth, whereas here, I was more of one.

I opened my bedroom door, before stepping aside and letting Vita pass by, acting like a gentledrake. I received a look of please from my action.

"How sweet of you. Ladies first, as some say!" She giggled at her words. Gods, that is such a musical laugh! So beautiful! I've already come to terms with the fact that I had a crush on Vita. Whether or not that will stay true depends on her personality. I don't like mean females. I was picked on by those types of females a lot when I was on Earth, and sometimes here too.

I followed Vita outside the door and down the stairs. As soon as I stepped down the final stair, I was swooped up by a pair of strong forearms.

"Oh, Zero! Are you okay? Did you sleep well!?" My mother murmured worriedly to me. I understand how she feels. It's like a hangover, and your mother is by your side the next day.

"Yeah, Mother. I'm okay… and I definitely slept well for the most part thanks to Vita… I kind of needed a helping paw to sleep," I explained then how I had the horrifying nightmare, and it prompted my mother to hug me tighter against her.

"I'm so sorry that you have to go through all of this, Zero, my dear… it's much worse than we initially thought…"

"I guess you could say that."

"And Vita, thank you. For looking after Zero for us. You are officially allowed in our house anytime. Any dragon or person who helps Zero is welcome anytime." My mother smiled at Vita, who returned it gratefully. Well, at least everyone can get along.

"I'm starving. When are we going to eat?"

* * *

Vita and I met up with Spyro and Cynder in front of the temple, where the guardians stood, waiting for us. Upon arrival, Terrador got straight to the point, and asked, "How was Zero last night Vita? Did anything happen?"

"Nothing much really, except for the horrible nightmare he had." I looked over at the Cynder as she said this, and I saw the black dragoness shudder. It had nothing to do with Cynder, and she was probably still feeling very down and guilty, so being the friendly person I am, I made my way over to her.

"Cynder," I spoke firmly. She perked up and fixated her gaze on me.

"Y-yes?"

"I can tell that you are feeling guilty about what happened yesterday during training. It wasn't your fault, the nightmare. It had to have been caused by Malefor. What other dragon can deliberately give other dragons specific nightmares?"

"I could… about me. Back then, that is."

"That, was back then, like you said. This is now. You're a sweet dragoness Cynder, and a very pretty one at that. Sure, everyone remembers you for who you were back and before, but this is you now. You are Cynder. Not some kind of puppet. You can show the people you have changed. Now lift up your head and stop moping." My words seemed to have an impact on her, because Cynder looked up and held her head high in pride, smiling giddily at me.

"You know what Zero, you're just as great as Spyro when he is cheering me up. I'm glad that I have you as a friend. And I'm glad to have met you." Her words were like a home run, because I was smiling happily at her sudden change in mood.

Spyro then pulled me aside and away from Cynder, as well as everyone else, to get a chance to speak to me. "Zero, thank you. For everything you've done for Cynder and I. You're calling, like you've said it, is spot on. You've everyone's respect, and rightfully earned it is. You've even became a good friend for Cynder, and that was without any chains or anything like that, hehe…"

I could see the longing look in Spyro's eyes when he mentioned "friend for Cynder." Alright, I have never been in a relationship, and I already know that Spyro loves the black dragoness, but come on! You're so naive that you can't even see that she loves you back! But not now. I won't say it now. Gotta wait for when the time is right to give some dating advice.

"Heh, I suppose that is true. So, Spyro, ya ready to fight me head on again?"

"Hell yeah! I'm going to have to face it even more head on now that we know Malefor is not quite gone and done yet!" That's the spirit Spyro! What a team player!  
I hear Terrador bellow with a chuckle behind us. "Your confidence is in check Spyro. And you, Zero. You seem ready to go, despite what's happened. Is it perhaps that your desire to fight is stronger?" That. That is a really great question. Did I actually want to fight? Or was it deeper. Perhaps it was a combination… of freedom and the desire to fight for that freedom… like a patriot.

"I… I want freedom. In order to get freedom, you have to fight for it. Since this whole ordeal has to do with me in some way, I'm involved, which means I need to fend for myself if the situation and circumstances call for it." Terrador seemed pleased with the response that I had given him. With the slight movement of his head, he directed us to the training area, where we would prepare even further for Malefor. I was surprisingly calm about this whole ordeal. Did I really have any worries? Or was this a facade that I put up? I hope it wasn't the latter at all.

"Spyro, you shall practice with Cynder on this day. Zero, you shall go up against Vita. Though you did hold your own against Spyro for a while, you need to start fighting opponents at your experience level, then gradually increase the stakes." I nodded in understanding. I was nowhere near Spyro and Cynder's fighting skills, and eventually, as time goes on, they get better. It'll be a losing battle for me either way. The only other option is to fight twice as hard. Then we would all eventually be around the same skill in terms of combat. Man, I'm so smart for an idiot.

Cyril and Volteer guided us to the next room over so Vita and I can train and brawl. Cynder and Spyro remained fixated in position.

Soon enough, Vita and I were on opposite ends of the field, waiting for the bullet to fire, and it did within seconds. Volteer was the one to give the command to start. I put on a burst of speed, jumping immediately towards the dragoness, my wings pumping steadily. However, just before I could land a blow, Terrador padded into the room with a serious look about his face. I was immediately distracted, and Vita was apparently as well, as I rocked back and forth after I slammed headlong into the dragoness.

"Everyone. Cease at once. We've received news of a band of grublins and orcs scouting a little too close to Warfang. This is a problem that needs dispatching of quickly. There's a decent amount to handle, but it shouldn't be a problem. You're all trained very well, and there's always room for improvement," Terrador elucidated.

My head was spinning, while Vita and I received puzzled looks all around. I shook myself from my dizziness before I quickly moved off the dragoness that I was atop, who was also coming out of her daze.

"Terrador, this matter is utmostly significant. If we don't stop this great group of merciless vandals, then I'm afraid that something inconceivably horrid will happen. This isn't ordinary at all. Some kind of scheme must be afoot. Hurry, make haste young dragons! You've'nt any time to lose!" Volteer sounded quickly. He seemed to be in a panic of some sort, and Cyril was glaring at Volteer, but in his eyes, he seemed gloomy. Now that I think about it, everyone was on edge.

"Terrador? Why is everyone so… jumpy?" I asked, wanting to seek out the information.

"The scouting party that watched the orcs and grublins noticed that they all hovered in one spot, almost as if guarding something. If this is what I am thinking, then if they succeed in it, then the war is resuming." Oh shit. We may just have found Malefor's hideout.

"Spyro. Cynder. Vita. Zero. You are to head out and dispatch of these threats, but be wary. Malefor may be prowling there. He is unpredictable," Terrador hissed out. I wasn't ready to face Malefor, which is why I had a very bad feeling about this situation. I can't shake the paranoia loose from me… we all began to ready ourselves for the inevitable battle, and soon, we departed from the temple and out in the airs of Warfang. These citizens didn't even know that the threat was closer than they knew it, even though they didn't know it! If we were to fail in subduing these evildoers… no. Think positive! The citizens will be safe! They have to be! But what if they aren't… what if we don't succeed? NO! I have to stop thinking negatively! I need to stop the inside battles! We just have to hope that everything will out a-ok… at least I hope so


End file.
